AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Perhaps, I wondered now to myself as I looked down the hallways if I had been waiting for this wedding all along. Perhaps I had been waiting to see him one more time so that I could decide on what to do. And so I was nervous and jittery and barely holding it together, and everyone, I was sure, could see through me. Sighing, I lowered my head just then, the door to the male bathroom pulled open. I had been standing by it, so I immediately straightened to give way to whoever had just exited since the hallway was so small.
"Sorry," I apologized; however, he didn't respond, so I was forced to lift my gaze then, cranky enough to just maybe call him an asshole for ignoring my politeness. However, as soon as my eyes set on the pair of gorgeous gray-gold speckled eyes that had haunted my dreams for the past several months, my heart stopped in my chest.
Chapter 56
Lucien
Ihad known that I was going to see her, and this, I had to admit, had deterred me from attending this wedding. But Sophie had my complete schedule as my assistant, so there was no way I could have lied to her in any way that I was unavailable.
Thankfully, though, Elena had been available, so she had agreed to come with me, and so here we were. If not at the church ceremony, I had expected to run into her at the reception, but now that she was here so early and standing in front of me, I had no idea what to say. She was in complete shock, I could see because her eyes were wide and her lips slightly parted.
She looked breathtaking, my brain instantly registered, but this was by the way. It wasn't a thought I could linger on, but the fact that I couldn't deny the ache and longing I felt as I looked at her was undeniable.
Before I could do what I had admonished myself not to, I turned and without a word continued on my way. Perhaps I could have said hi, but I wasn't ready just yet to open up any unnecessary doors.
When I returned to the pew we were sitting on, however, I remained silent for a while before eventually speaking to Elena. "I've seen her," I told her, and she snapped her head to mine.
"What? Where?"
"Bathroom," I whispered, and her head instantly snapped toward the back of the church. Then she got up.
"I need to go to the bathroom; I'll be back in a bit," she said; however, I stopped her and frowned. "I'm just going to the bathroom," she pleaded. "It's best to do it before the ceremony starts, and it'll be starting anytime now." I kept my hard gaze on her, and eventually, she plopped back down onto her chair. "I would have just said hi, and who knows what else might have happened?"
"The 'what else might have happened' is precisely why I didn't want you to interfere."
"I wasn't trying to interfere," she said. "I was just trying to be nice and polite, plus I like her."
"You only met her once and joined her in deceiving me."
"It's been months, and you employed Sophie back. You need to have gotten over this whole deception debate with her."
I didn't respond.
"Please tell me you have," she said, but I ignored her. And thankfully, just then, the guests began to take their seats, indicating that the ceremony was about to begin.
I was more nervous than I wanted to admit or acknowledge, so I simply kept my expression neutral and took extra care to act as though I didn't give a damn in the whole wide world. Hopefully, it was effective because the doors were pulled open, and the procession began. The bridesmaids and, of course, the maid of honor, who was none other than Scarlett. I didn't bother taking my eyes off her because I knew she would do all she could to avoid my gaze. This was acceptable, so I took my fill of her.
Her hair was slicked back away from her face. It seemed a bit longer, but I had no idea how that had been pulled off. Her makeup, though, was set and pink, and she seemed flushed and so soft.
Watching her in this way, it became nearly impossible for me to forget how she had felt in my arms. The first month away from her had been easy; at least, that was what I had told myself. And then afterwards, it was a thought; my ability to keep telling myself this had been lost.
She popped into my mind at random times, but through it all, I fought it until I accepted that none of it was enough for me to start a relationship with her again, I allowed them in my mind and treated them as fond memories at best and cautionary moments at worst, dependent on my mood.
Now, however, and as I watched her, I wondered if the sadness and exhaustion I sensed from her were all in my head.
I was sure she had moved on as I had, but I couldn't help but agree with Elena in this, more about the fact that all of it was a shame. Our chemistry was undeniable, and I would give almost anything to experience that again. Sighing, I looked away and focused on the altar, and pretty soon, Sophie came in with her dad.
I watched her and couldn't help but imagine as well how Scarlett would look in a white dress. Hers would be a bit more raunchier than Sophie's, who currently looked like a princess in a ball gown.
Suddenly, I received a nudge in the arm, and then I looked up to see that it was Elena trying to get my attention.
"What?" I mouthed, and she nudged my attention toward Scarlett at the altar once again. I was reluctant to look, but it was just in time to meet Scarlett's gaze. My heart lurched in my throat as we stared straight at each other, and then she turned away.
"She smiled at us," Elena said, and I released a heavy sigh.
Eventually, and during the ceremony, Elena nudged me on the arm again. "You really can't forgive her?" she asked, and I refused to respond to this.
Chapter 57
